Chapter 48, The Spirit Beast Pavilion and Uncle-nephew Conflict 

Translator: Raznick

 

Red Cliff Market.

 

One morning, a sharp crackling of firecrackers suddenly erupted from the southeast corner of the market. 

 

Experienced cultivators in the market immediately recognized that a new shop was opening up.

 

Generally speaking, in the market, only newly opened stores are permitted to create such a commotion.

 

Otherwise, any shop or individual within the market who stirred up such a big scene would face hefty fines—or even imprisonment.

 

As for newly opened stores, by logic, in order to attract customers, prices of goods would be slightly discounted during the first few days or month.

 

Consequently, whether it was merely out of curiosity or seeking bargains, a multitude of cultivators idling about in the market all flocked towards the location of the newly opened store.

 

The Spirit Beast Pavilion!

 

This was the name of the newly opened shop.

 

The name said it all.

 

At the storefront, Zhou Jiasheng, the newly appointed manager, was beaming and bowing with cupped hands to all sides, welcoming everyone.

 

“Welcome, Fellow Daoists, to our store. I am Zhou Jiasheng, entrusted by the clan to serve as the manager of this establishment. Today being our grand opening, all goods are available at a ten percent discount. I urge you not to miss out!”

 

Zhou Jiasheng was sixty-two years old, with white hair beginning to appear and fine wrinkles adorning his brow, indicating he was no longer in the prime of his life.

 

He sported a distinctive mustache on his upper lip and maintained a perpetual smile, exuding an air befitting a seasoned shop manager.

 

Zhou Daoyi chose him for this role due to his prior experience in managing such establishments. He possessed a keen eye for appraising various common items, making it less likely for customers to receive junk.

 

Choosing Zhou Chun as a partner was based on two reasons. First, he had recently performed meritorious deeds and could not go unrewarded.

 

Second, it was known that Zhou Chun had a love for reading and learning, excelling his peers in theoretical knowledge. If he were to apprentice under Zhou Jiasheng in the shop for several years, turning theory into practical knowledge, he would surely become a valuable asset in the future.

 

At this point, as Zhou Jiasheng announced that everything in the store was being sold at a ten percent discount that day, many cultivators gathered out of curiosity.

 

One individual, while heading inside the shop, shouted loudly: “Master Zhou, what treasures do you have in your shop? Given the name of your store, are these items related to spirit pets or mounts?”

 

“Fellow Daoist, you’re correct.Our shop does indeed sell demon beast eggs and occasionally releases some tamed demon beast hatchlings for preorder,” said Zhou Jiasheng with a smile as he nodded in confirmation.

 

“However, our main focus is on selling pills that enhance the cultivation of spirit pets. We offer custom-made animal-repelling medicine, pest-control remedies, and specially formulated pet food. Additionally, we provide tailored breakthrough methods for spirit pets stuck at critical points in their growth. If it doesn’t work, you don’t pay!”

 

He then raised his hand in a respectful gesture and continued, “Of course, we also purchase demon beast eggs, demon beast hatchlings, herbs, and minerals at fair prices. We even acquire information about certain demon beasts!”

 

The cultivators present immediately understood that today’s bargain would not be easy to come by. Spirit pets were not something everyone could afford, even among the cultivating clans—only two out of every ten cultivators could manage to maintain a spirit pet.

 

This made Zhou Clan’s Spirit Beast Pavilion, which specialized in spirit pet products, irrelevant to most of them.

 

However, since they had already arrived, they also hoped to purchase some traveling essentials, such as the store’s secret recipe animal repellent and insect-repellent medications, which were useful for those on the go. Thus, they all entered the shop with curiosity piqued.

 

Inside the store, Zhou Chun, wearing a blue-gray gown, was smiling and bowing to those who came into the store, and at the same time providing answers to the curious customers. But in fact, under his suggestion, notes were posted next to the counters in various places in the store, which clearly marked the approximate effects and prices of the relevant goods.

 

It turned out that there was a custom in this world to open a store, which was that the prices of all goods were only remembered by the shopkeeper and the clerk, and when encountering customers asking questions, they tried to quote a high price, while leaving room for bargaining.

 

However, Zhou Chun knew that this approach had advantages and disadvantages. For a store like this that had just opened and needs to establish a good reputation, it was not very beneficial.

 

Therefore, before officially opening the business, he managed to convince Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi to price all goods and sell them at the listed prices without any bargaining. Essentially, this was like running a supermarket in the world of cultivation.

 

As for whether any other shops had done this before, Zhou Chun had no idea. But at least not in Red Cliff Market.

 

So in this way, even though the Spirit Beast Pavilion might not easily convince cultivators to accept its approach at first, it would at least leave a deep impression on any cultivator who had visited here, ensuring they remembered the shop.

 

This was Zhou Chun’s most practical reasoning for persuading Zhou Daoyi at that time.

 

Additionally, the supermarket model had another advantage: it reduced the need for customers to haggle over prices, allowing Zhou Chun, as an apprentice, to save time from repetitive prattle.

 

After all, without clear price markings, many cultivators would inquire about prices and attempt to bargain regardless of whether they could afford the items or not.

 

At this point, many cultivators entering the shop were indeed intrigued by the unique selling method of Spirit Beast Pavilion and expressed their astonishment. People had varying opinions: some thought it was unreasonable that there was no room for negotiation, while others believed if the prices were fair, it would save them from unnecessary haggling. In any case, many stopped to look but few actually made a purchase.

 

After all, spirit coins weren’t something they could easily come by; they didn’t grow on trees. Most cultivators, unless absolutely necessary, they wouldn’t part with their spirit coins.

 

What interested cultivators the most, however, was the Spirit Beast Pavilion’s acquisition of demon beast eggs and demon beast information. Many asked about purchase prices, while others inquired whether they could sell any knowledge they had about specific demon beasts. Some were even content to merely earn spirit coins!

 

Fortunately, Zhou Chun had prepared for such inquiries.

 

He gave general reference prices for demon beast eggs and demon beast hatchlings to inquiring cultivators—lesser demon beast and average demon beast were the basic categories, with exact prices depending on their individual qualities.

 

For those asking about demon beast acquisitions, Zhou Chun simply pointed to a whiteboard inside the shop. On it were several postings detailing the demon beasts sought after by Zhou Clan cultivators.

 

The first entry was none other than Zhou Jiapeng’s request for information on a female Steel Plume Falcon.

 

Most of these Zhou Clan acquisition notices were aimed at finding demon beasts suitable for breeding purposes.

 

The cultivation world was vast, with cultivators’ footsteps covering every corner. By leveraging the vast network of cultivators to track down information on demon beasts’ whereabouts, it naturally became far more convenient than searching on one’s own.

 

Moreover, simply providing a tip could earn a substantial amount of spirit coins. This had left a deep impression on many cultivators who visited the store.

 

The bustling day finally came to an end. When night fell and most cultivators in the market had retired for rest, Zhou Chun was still accompanying Zhou Jiasheng in tallying up the day’s revenue and expenses for the shop.

 

“Today, we sold three lesser Fire Sparrow eggs, one lesser Gale Eagle egg, three vials of Beast Spirit Pill, fifty-six packages of beast repellent, thirty-two packages of insect repellent, and seventy-eight packages of spirit beast rations… A total of seven hundred and fifty-six spirit coins were earned.

 

“In addition, we purchased a hundred-year-old Red Candle Fruit, a piece of lightning-struck spirit wood, and two lesser Scarlet Blood Snake eggs… a total of four hundred and thirty-nine spirit coins.”

 

Inside the store, Zhou Jiasheng and Zhou Chun both looked unhappy after taking stock of today’s operating income and expenses.

 

The first day of opening was when they had the most customers, and it was normal for one day to be equivalent to a month’s worth.

 

But the revenue didn’t even reach a thousand pieces, which was indeed somewhat embarrassing. As for the expenditure, there was nothing much to say about it; they were all reasonable expenses. “Zhengchun, my young nephew, I’d like to hear your opinion. What do you think of today’s income?”

 

At the counter, Zhou Jiasheng closed the account book and looked at Zhou Chun with a calm expression.

 

Although there was no reproach in his words, Zhou Chun knew that his insistence on clearly marking prices had indeed made the Senior quite unhappy.

 

This was quite normal.

 

The longer a person worked in a certain field and the older he got, the more likely he was to be limited in his thinking by his experience and beliefs.

 

In Jiasheng Zhou’s eyes, no matter how great Zhou Chun’s contributions were to the clan or how intelligent he was, he was still just a young assistant in his mid-twenties with no experience in running a shop.

 

Such a disciple following him to learn trading wouldn’t be a bother at all; in fact, he’d welcome the extra help.

 

But such a newcomer taking charge of changing the store’s business operations right from the start made him, as the shopkeeper, feel his authority challenge. How could he not be angry?

 

If Zhou Chun’s  fixed pricing led to today’s impressive revenue, Zhou Jiasheng, despite his discomfort, would have made no further objections.

 

But the revenue for their first day fell short of expectations—by quite a bit.

 

This left Zhou Jiasheng seething, his frustration bubbling just below the surface.

 

As his expression grew increasingly calm, it only served to highlight the mounting fire of anger within him that he struggled to suppress and control.

 

Even though he asked, Zhou Chun still had to say what he had to say.

 

He immediately cupped his hands towards him and said sternly, “Sixteenth Uncle, please understand. I think that although today’s revenue is a little lower than expected, but it does not mean that we have failed!

 

“I believe that you, Sixteenth Uncle, have seen and heard today that even if the customers who came to our store did not buy or sell goods, they all had a heated discussion about our marked prices. I believe that if you go out and walk around tomorrow, you will hear discussions about this matter.

 

“If word of mouth spreads like this, even cultivators who are not in the market today will hear about our store’s reputation when they pass by and will curiously come over to verify it.

 

“Thus, I believe the next month will find our shop bustling with customers, with no worries about clientele.

 

“As long as the number of visitors increases, some will inevitably need our goods. Purchasing items on their way out is quite normal.

 

“Hence, I think that a single day’s revenue isn’t indicative of much.”

 

However, upon finishing his speech, he noticed Zhou Jiasheng’s barely concealed smirk.